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Take taxonomies to a whole new level with Elvis 5.18

Elvis

It doesn’t matter if you’re managing hundreds, thousands or millions of assets. Elvis DAM exists to make it simple for users to upload content and quickly find the assets they need from your ever-growing collection.

And whether you’re responsible for uploading and categorizing new assets or looking to make the most of all your existing content, you’re in luck. Elvis release 5.18 brings taxonomies to all pro-client users, and they’re about to make storing and finding the perfect files even easier.

Taxonomies in a nutshell

Fear not squirrel fans, I said taxonomies - not taxidermy

In simple terms, taxonomies are ways of grouping similar things into smaller and more specific categories.

You probably use them in your everyday digital life - imagine you were looking for socks on a retail website. You might start with gender > accessories > socks. Each click takes you into a more specific category with less products - but closer to the specific one you’re looking to buy.

At first glance this might appear like nothing more than a folder structure, but within Elvis DAM the opportunities and benefits taxonomies offer users are so much greater.

Save time and maximize the value of every asset in your collection

Even the simplest looking assets carry a cost of production. Put briefly - the more they can be used in relevant, the more return they can provide against this cost.

This relies on them being easy to find - which in turn relies on a consistent and accurate way of storing and tagging the file. There are various ways that this can be achieved, but let’s see how taxonomies can help.

A taxonomy structure can be predefined by an administrator according to the user needs and system architecture. Asset managers or contributors must then assign uploaded assets to the appropriate category of this pre-defined taxonomy. This means:

No typos when tagging - inevitable human error can prevent assets from being found

Consistent vocabulary - a defined taxonomy ensures all similar items will be grouped under the same terms, so users don’t have to rely on guessing multiple keywords to find what they’re looking for

Data automation - when an asset is placed in a category it will automatically carry the data and be findable within the relevant parent categories, but not sub-categories

Using taxonomies in this way not only makes your assets easier to find with a consistent accurate categorisation - it also streamlines data tagging processes.

Which should result in more productive (and happier) asset or content managers.

Enable users to discover your full asset collection

The user’s requirements will often dictate how they search for an asset. If they know exactly what they want, they’ll throw a query in the search bar and the metadata should easily deliver exactly what they need.

This is great when it comes to known items, or assets you’d expect to find within your DAM - like your company logo. But when it comes to discovering collections for the first time, users are often looking to discover rather than search. This is where taxonomies come in.

By honing into specific categories, users are better able to narrow down the assets they select for review, enabling them to discover the best fit for their project. This should mean relevant use of varied assets, increasing the value of all of their creation.

Say hello to your new best friend with Elvis release 5.18

So whether you’re uploading or searching for assets, taxonomies are now available for all Elvis DAM users.

What’s more, the cleaned up interface has been purpose-built to enhance usability - for example we have included the ability to select/deselect multiple categories with a simple click.

This is a blessing if you’ve meticulously selected twenty categories from a complicated structure, only to accidentally click the wrong one and have to start all over again.

Jaap is one of the co-creators of Elvis DAM and has been working in the DAM industry for more than 15 years. His current job (or should we say hobby?) is to create integrations between WoodWing products and other software solutions. Jaap loves to run, try new beers and beat his colleagues at ping pong.